Observations while Bonding
by MsMusicLover
Summary: Since coming back from the trip to Hong Kong and learning about his family's true magical nature, Jonathan started paying closer attention to Jake. He started noticing things he had not noticed about his son before. Jonathan & Jake-father/son bonding. (Cover image by shelziru on deviantART)
1. Body Features

-Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.

-This story is post Hong Kong Longs. This is a Jonathan and Jake bonding fic.

-Jake is 15 years old in this story and is slightly different than from the show.

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><p><span>Chapter: 1-Body Features<span>

Since coming back from the trip to Hong Kong and learning about his family's true magical nature, Jonathan started paying closer attention to Jake. He had no problems spending time with his little girl. Haley always sought him out at least sometime during the day for attention—sometimes multiple times if she was telling on her brother. But, he always had trouble with his son. Jake and he were just not as close. Jake always seemed to be off with his friends or grandfather, and the times he did get to spend with Jake were awkward nervous most of the time, especially since he was 13 (Jake had told him a few months ago that his dragon powers fully awaked when he turned 13). Jonathan realized that the awkwardness and nervousness was from Jake trying to keep his secret from him. Ever since he found out that his family was a bunch of dragons, Jonathan's relationship with his son took a turn for the better; they spent _much _more time together.

And for that, Jonathan was happy.

So since he started spending more time with his son, he started noticing things about Jake he had not noticed before. One of the main things Jonathan noticed about Jake was his body features.

Now that he paid more attention to his son, one of the most prominent features that came to his mind was Jake's eyes. Being of Chinese descent, Jake had naturally dark colored eyes like his mother and grandfather. Or at least, that's what Jonathan thought. Jonathan remembered the day when he first noticed his son's different eye color. On a lazy Saturday when he did not have to go to work and Susan had taken Haley to go shopping, Jonathan decided to spend the whole day with Jake. They mostly hung around the house, not feeling the urge to go out and do something. Unfortunately boredom kicked in, causing them to just laze on the couch…doing positively nothing.

That was when Jonathan had a brilliant idea.

He sat up straight and grinned at his son. "Hey Jake-a-rooni, I know what we can do!"

Jake looked up at his father and arched an eyebrow. Jonathan took that as an initiative to continue.

"We should have a staring contest!"

Jake's other eyebrow quirked up in surprise. "Now, why should we do that? That sounds boring and silly, dad."

"Aw, come on Jake. Sometimes doing silly things can be the most fun," Jonathan said excitedly. Jake looked at his father for a few more moments before he sat up straight and turned his body to face him. "Alright," he said as a small grin tugged at the corners of his mouth, "but you do know that I'm totally gonna' win, right?" Jonathan did not answer, but smiled as a determined look passed on his face. "We start on the count of three; one…two…_three_!" And the staring contest had begun.

That's when Jonathan got a really good look at his son's eyes.

Since the day he was born Jake always had dark brown eyes, like chocolate. It was trait that he got from his mother; Jonathan had green eyes that neither Jake nor Haley received. But, now that he was looking closely at Jake's eyes, he saw that they were not the chocolate brown he had always seen but were a bright, fiery amber color that seemed to hold their own fire within them. The pupils of his eyes were also unlike a human's normally round ones; his were slit pupils, akin to a cat or reptile. Jonathan was so surprised that he shot back off the couch and blinked repeatedly. Jake took that as his win. "Oh yeah! Told you that you couldn't beat me!"

After his little bout of victory related happiness, Jake noticed that his father was still looking at him with a wide-eyed, peculiar expression and he stood up as well. Jake's face contorted in confusion. "Uh, dad? What' cha looking at me like that for?" Jonathan seemed to get out of his stupor.

"Jake," he asked slowly, still looking a little wide-eyed, "what's with your eyes?"

Jake hand immediately flew to his eyes. "What? What's wrong with them?" He tried to feel around his eyes, as if he would find something wrong with them on the surface.

Jonathan interjected, "Jake, calm down. I was talking about your eye color and pupils. Your eyes, they're…" he trailed off, swallowing thickly. Jake's eyes widened as realization hit him. "Oh," he said as he scratched the back of his neck, "that's what you mean. Yeah, they kind of changed when my dragon powers fully emerged."

He was completely surprised, yet at the same time he was not. He was surprised at the fact that his own child's appearance had changed (who wouldn't be?); he was not surprised due to the fact that since he found out that his own children were dragons, he was expecting _something else_ weird to happen. Even so, he was still baffled by this. "H-how?" he asked, bewildered. Jake winced slightly and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm not really sure. I asked Gramps about it when my dragon powers fully emerged. He said that dragon traits start bleeding through once a dragon begins using his or her powers actively. It just happens. It's different for every dragon."

Jonathan was quiet for a while, absorbing this new information. It was in this silence that he noticed that his son was not looking at him but was looking at the floor, fidgeting in place. Was his son ashamed of himself? Did his reaction affect Jake that much? No, Jonathan would not have that. He bent down slightly toward Jake and put a finger under his chin, tilting it so he could see his face. "Ah, there are those handsome eyes," he said softly. "Now tell me, why are you hiding them? Why aren't you looking at me?" Jonathan was being quite serious which contrasted to his normally upbeat and peppy attitude.

Jake was clearly uncomfortable as he tried to answer. "Well…from your reaction, you were really freaked out. I thought…I-I just didn't want to freak you out more I guess, so I stopped looking at you. Then you wouldn't see my eyes." Jonathan placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "Oh, Jake, I wasn't freaked out. Sure, I was a little surprised, but I wasn't freaked out at you, son. You know how weird I can act Jake when I get surprised." Jonathan was happy that he elicited a small smile from Jake. It was very odd to see him so unsure of himself, especially with his own family.

"Now then," Jonathan chirped as he stood up with a smile and he said excitedly, "Care to tell me what else has changed, Jake-a-roo? Any cool stuff?" Jake's face split into a big grin as he outright laughed at his dad's usual quirky behavior.

"Well, my hair matches the scales on my head in my dragon form, which you've already seen," he said as he raked a hand through his green tinted spiky locks. He tugged on his ears. "My ears got all pointy. I don't mind, though." Then he held up his hands for Jonathan to see. "My nails changed, too." And indeed they had changed. Jonathan could see that in the place of blunt clear nails that would normally be on human hands were pointed claws. They were only about a centimeter or two the normal length a guy would keep his nails at and were pointed at the tips; they were black as onyx, reflecting a bit of light from the room.

"I can honestly say that I never noticed that before," Jonathan muttered.

"Yeah, but you don't go looking at people's hands all the time, dad, so I'm guessing that's okay. Plus, if you just glance over them, they look like I just painted my nails black. But don't let that fool you, they're wickedly sharp," his son grinned, showing his teeth. Jonathan did not doubt him. As Jake smiled, Jonathan saw that Jake's canines were _a lot_ longer than an average person's. _"How did I not notice all these changes in my son before?" _he asked himself sadly. He was disappointed with himself. At least now he was making it up to Jake.

An idea suddenly came to his mind (again).

"Jake," he said suddenly.

"Yeah, dad?"

"Vampire!" he exclaimed as he pointed to his son. "You're a vampire-dragon!"

Jake spluttered, making one of the most ridiculous faces Jonathan had ever seen. "N-No I'm not! What are you talking about?"

"You have pointy teeth! Pointy teeth!" shouted Jonathan comically as he ran into the kitchen, away from Jake. Jake stood there in muted shock before he ran after his father. "Wait! Dad, get back here!"

And that's how his wife and daughter found him when they came back an hour later—chasing his son around the house holding out a clove of garlic, yelling, "Pointy teeth! Vampire, be gone!"

Jake knew he wasn't being serious; although, telling him so probably would have prevented Jake from retaliating by putting cloves of garlic in his shoes. Jonathan did not really mind (it was the pair he was throwing way anyway). He knew that he enjoyed that Saturday a lot.

And he had a feeling Jake did, too.

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><p>AN: Published 3/28/12

Woo! This is the first chapter of Observation while Bonding. I hoped you liked it. I honestly think that Jake's dragon features should bleed into his human form. I would make him look so much cooler! This story was inspired by two pictures on deviant art: http:/ shelziru . deviantart . com /art/ american-dragon-jake-long-12412033 and http:/ sujk0823 . deviantart . com/ art/ American-Dragon-Jake-Long-139898726 (just remove the spaces!)

I hope you all like this chapter! Please Review-it might make the next chapter come sooner~!

Next Chapter: Behaviors


	2. Behaviors: Fear

Finally! Chapter 2: Behaviors: Fear. Hope you all like this!

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><p><span>Chapter: 2- Behaviors: Fear<span>

Jonathan Long was having a long day. His boss, Mr. Lockjelly, would not give him a break during his entire day, even a lunch break! On top of that, he even made him stay overtime to do work that the other people had not finished in the office. That was their job, not his! He called Susan and told him that he would be coming home late. Apparently, she was having a long day as well. She got a surprise call from her catering job saying that they needed her right away. That left Jake and Haley home by themselves. Jonathan was not worried, though. He knew his children could take care of themselves for at least an hour or two before he got home.

By the time he got to the front door of his home it was already a quarter past eleven. He took his keys from his pocket and unlocked the door, stepping inside silently. He put his brown jacket on the coat rack and briefcase leaning up against it as he closed the door. The lock clicked in place and the sound echoed in the silent home. It was quiet, as the kids were asleep. It was a school night after all, a Wednesday day.

After eating his favorite dinner consisting of spaghetti and meatballs, courtesy of Susan, he washed his dirty dish and headed to his room, looking forward to a good night's rest. On his way to his room, he paused at each of his children's doors. It was a habit he always did every night—to check on Jake and Haley. He came to Haley's room first.

"_**No boys allowed! (Except Daddy!)" **_was taped proudly to her door. He allowed a faint amused chuckle to escape his lips. She was going through the 'older brothers aren't cool phase' like any younger sister would.

He gingerly cracked the door open as not to make a sound and poked his head through. He smiled softly as he saw Haley curled up in a little ball in her bed, completely surrounded by large lavender and pink pillows and her fluffy oversized stuffed animals. Soft snores echoed throughout the pink room.

"_Aw, how adorable,"_ he thought. Yes, Haley would always be his little girl.

He silently stepped into her room and knelt at Haley's bed. He brushed her bangs away from her face and softly pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Goodnight, sweetheart. Sweet dreams," he whispered gently.

Jonathan closed the door and moved his way toward his son's room. Jake's door had cut-outs of skateboarders and, ironically dragons, he had printed off from his computer. Like Haley, Jake had a sign taped to his door that said in bold red sharpie, _**"No Haley's allowed!" **_Oh, adolescence—a period of endless amusement for a parent (when it was possible). Before his hand could reach the brass door handle, he paused. He thought he heard something. He listened more closely and—yes, he was right! It was coming from Jake's room. He pressed his ear to the door; he heard low, pained whimpers and groans coming from Jake's room. Jonathan frowned.

Jake was having a nightmare.

Without hesitation Jonathan stepped into his son's room and headed straight for Jake, managing not to trip over the skateboard (he had told Jake a million times to put that in place) and random clothing and other junk that had amassed on the floor. He sat on the edge on the bed as he paused and looked at his son. Jake was body was twisting and turning, further entangling his limbs within the sheets. His skin was clammy and quite pale which was a drastic difference to his normal honey-tan skin tone. His hands were clenched so hard that his knuckles were white and his claws tore the sheets. Jonathan knew that they had dug into Jake's palms because he saw large splotches of blood on the sheets around his hands. Jake tossed his head from side to side, mumbling things too softly for Jonathan to decipher. He leaned forward to try and hear more clearly what his son was saying.

"N-no…leave…alone, Dark Dragon. D-don't touch them! No! _Stop! Please!_"

"_Dark Dragon?"_ Jonathan thought in surprise. He knew that the Dark Dragon was gone—he had been for about two years now. He had seen it with his own eyes. He also knew that Jake knew that; he was the one that had faced him directly, after all. Was this the first time Jake was having nightmares like this, or had this happened before?

Tears started to leak out Jake's eyes and slide down his cheeks. His normally happy face was contorted in an awful expression of pain and fear. "_Please, _just leave…them alone!" Jake was begging at this point and he sounded desperate. It broke Jonathan's heart; he never liked to see his children in pain, be it physical or mental. He knew it was definitely time to wake Jake up. He shook Jake's shoulder as carefully, yet firmly as he could. "Jake. Jake, you have to wake up, son. Jake, wake up."

Jake shot up from his bed with a strangled yell. When he saw Jonathan he quickly jumped away from him emitting a frightened yelp. With his legs entangled in the sweat dampened sheets, he fell out of bed and swiftly backed away into the wall. Jonathan could see Jake's wide amber eyes glowing faintly in the dark as he stared at Jonathan. Jonathan approached Jake slowly. "Jake?" he asked softly. He did not want to startle him more than he already had.

Jake tried to back way into the wall even more and curled into a little ball. "St-stay away from me, Dark Dragon! Leave me alone!" His breathing was fast and shallow and he was shaking slightly; Jonathan could practically feel the fear radiating off of Jake. Apparently, even though Jonathan had woken his son up, Jake was still in the throes of his nightmare—a bad one as it seemed. How was he supposed to take care of Jake without scaring him even more? Jonathan knew he had to act quickly. When he moved towards Jake, Jake actually let out an animalistic hiss as he bared his teeth at his father. Jonathan was very surprised at this; he had seen Jake and Haley do this in their dragon form when they wanted to scare off others, but he had never seen either of them do this in human form. He guessed Jake was just _that _scared. He moved towards Jake despite his stuttered protests frightened hisses and quickly engulfed him in a tight embraced. He felt Jake stiffen before he started to struggle. "Let me go! Get a-away f-from me!" He winced as he felt Jake scratch his sides with his claws; however, it was nothing serious, though—just a few shallow scratches, like a cat. Jake was too strained and incoherent to do anything more serious than that.

He held on to his son tightly, trying to will the nightmare that was scaring Jake away. After a few more minutes, Jake finally calmed down. Jonathan waited another moment before he addressed his son. "Jake," he asked softly. "Are you alright now, son?" Jake finally seemed coherent enough to answer. "D-dad?" he asked timidly as he looked around his room. "W-what's going on? Jonathan could feel that Jake was still shaking slightly.

He pulled away from Jake slightly and used his thumb to wipe away the remainder of the tears that had managed escaped Jake's eyes. "It's alright, Jake. You just had a nightmare, is all. You're safe now, don't worry." Jake winced at the reminder of his nightmare. Silence reigned throughout the room.

"Come on. Why don't we go in the kitchen?" He pulled Jake from the floor by under his arms and out of the room; Jake was still a too little shaky to walk on his own. As he passed Haley's room, Jonathan heard that she was still asleep. _"I guess we're lucky she didn't wake up with all that commotion. Jake would be embarrassed if that happened." _He noticed that Jake was very silent as they made their way to the kitchen. Jonathan did not like a silent Jake. Jake sat down at the kitchen table and folded his arms, putting his head on top of his arms. "I'll make some hot cocoa." Jonathan said as he started pulling the milk from the fridge. Jake silently glanced up and nodded his head, then put his head back down. Jonathan put the cocoa powder in the milk after the few minutes it took to boil the milk. As he grabbed two mugs from the cupboard, he made sure to get Jake favorite one. It was the one the he himself got Jake last Christmas; it was a deep red with a detailed golden Chinese dragon and gold Chinese characters painted on it. The characters translated to _'good fortune'_. Jonathan saw it in an antique shop and knew that Jake would like it. It turned out that he was right.

He poured the hot cocoa in each, putting a little extra in Jake's mug. He sat down at the table and handed Jake's mug to him. "Careful, it's hot," he warned. It did not have a handle, so Jake would just have to hold it in his hands. Jake sat up and took the mug from Jonathan, black claws clinking against the ceramic as he wrapped his fingers around the mug without flinching. "Thanks," he said softly. It was a tense silence as the two sat there, quietly sipping their hot cocoa. Jonathan broke the silence as he asked curiously, "How are you not burning yourself?" Jake's lips quirked slightly in amusement. "Every dragon, even in human form is slightly resistant to heat. I don't think this cup will burn me." And that was when Jake actually looked at the mug he was holding.

"You got my favorite mug," he muttered in surprise.

"Yep, thought it might cheer you a bit."

Jake did not answer. Jonathan was about to take another sip of his hot cocoa but stopped as he noticed something dark on the table under Jake's mug. He narrowed his eyes as he looked more carefully. The dark color was a dark red. _"Dark red…what could that—?" _He let out a silent gasp as he remembered what happened to Jake's hands. He could not believe he forgot. _"That's blood!" _ He put his mug on the table with slightly more force than he intended, which made Jake look up.

"Jake, let me see your hands," Jonathan told him. Jake looked confused as he put his mug down and took his hands off it, and then looked surprised as he saw the state they were in. Jonathan was surprised as well. Jake's hands had four semi-deep scratches in his palms, looking positively ripped up. Luckily, it did not look like Jake needed stitches. Blood flowed slowly from his hands and dripped onto the table. The blood from his palms had smeared onto his mug. Jonathan could not believe he had forgotten about Jake's hands!

"Stay right there, Jake. I'll be right back," he told his son as he swiftly ran to the bathroom. He grabbed the first-aid kit and ran back into the kitchen. When he returned, he saw Jake pressing several wads of paper towels against his palms, trying to staunch the bleeding. From the few amounts of bloodied paper towels on the table, it looked like he was succeeding. Jonathan sat back down at the table. "Here, let me help you," he said. Jake let his father take his hands and started working on them. Jonathan worked in silence as he cleaned the blood from Jake's hands. Jake winced as his father put an antiseptic on his palms. "Sorry," Jonathan apologized, "that's supposed to keep them from getting infected and help them heal faster." Jake nodded silently.

"Why didn't you say anything about your hands, Jake?" Jonathan asked.

"…I didn't notice."

Jake had still barely said anything besides that since they had first come into the kitchen. Jonathan's lips twitched downward into a barely noticeable frown. Jake was always talking; he was never the silent type. Jonathan thought it was time to get his son to talk again. "So," he said as he wrapped Jake's hands in white bandages, "do you want to talk about it?" He knew that Jake knew that Jonathan was talking about his nightmare. Jake gave an uncommitted shrug, still not looking at his father. As Jonathan finished wrapping up Jake's hands, he said, "You know, talking about it really does help."

Jake was silent for a while. Jonathan was patient, though. He knew that Jake was probably mulling over his thoughts, deciding on how to start. After another few minutes of silence, Jake finally began talking. "…It was about you guys, you know," he started off softly. "You, mom, Haley, Gramps, Fu, and me—we were all back in Hong Kong, at the thousand years toast. Dark Dragon had come and confronted us-the dragons-directly." Jonathan noticed that Jake had started to unconsciously scratch at the table, leaving very visible marks on the surface. Jonathan would tell him that _after _he finished talking, though. "The Dark Dragon…he," Jake visibly started to have trouble explaining this to Jonathan. "he killed off all the dragons! Councilors Kulde, Andam, Omina, and Kukulkhan and Sun Park a-and all the other dragons. All of the dragons except…me."

He took a deep breath and continued on. "He…he k-killed all of you," Jake's voiced cracked, and Jonathans eyes widened. He did not expect to hear that. "He killed all of you and then he came after me! I tried to save you guys, I really did…" Jake trailed off. He began scratching the table again. "Heh, listen to me," he scoffed bitterly. "I sound pathetic, crying over a stupid little dream." Jonathan put his hands over Jake's and gave them a light squeeze, both to keep him from scratching the table any further and also to comfort him. "Jake, anything that bothers you this much doesn't make you pathetic, especially if it's something as serious as what you said happened it your dream."

Jake sighed tiredly, running his bandaged hands through his messy hair. "Thanks, dad."

"Not a problem, son," he smiled at Jake.

Jake finally noticed the scratches on the table. "Uh, dad, what happened to the table?" Jonathan gave a quick glance to the table before he answered. "You were kind of…eh…scratching at the table when you where talking earlier." Jake glanced at his claws and saw that there were indeed wood chips under them. "Aw, man!" He shook his head. "Anyway, sorry about the scratches and blood on the table and the bloodied mug."

"Don't worry about," Jonathan dismissed as he waved a hand flippantly. "Come on, let's get some sleep." After cleaning up the kitchen—including the blood on the table and mug—they headed to their respective rooms. Before Jonathan could step into his room, he heard Jake call him. He turned around to see a very flustered Jake who was shifting from side to side. "Yes, Jake?" Jake avoided looking at him as he raised a hand to rub his neck nervously. "Would you…uh…can you stay with me…until I fall asleep?" he asked, clearly embarrassed. Jonathan was very taken aback; the last time Jake had asked him that was when he was nine.

"Sure, son."

After tucking Jake into bed, he sat in the chair next to his bed. He started to thread his fingers through Jake's hair, an action that had always comforted Jake since he was a little kid. He would continue to do it until Jake fell asleep. "Goodnight, dad," Jake mumbled from under the covers.

"Goodnight, Jake. Sleep well," he said as he gave a comforting smile.

Jonathan continued to thread his fingers through Jake's hair until he heard an odd rumbling noise coming from Jake. He looked down at Jake, quite surprised. Jake was emitting a content noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and a purr. _"I didn't know that dragons purred."_

Jonathan knew that he raising a fifteen year old teenager was difficult. He also knew raising a fifteen year old dragon teenager was even more difficult. There were behaviors and reactions a dragon teenager did which a human teen would not do; some of which included growling and bearing teeth in a response to fear, unconsciously digging their claws into surfaces when worried or distracted, and emitting happy animalistic sounds when at peace or content (i.e. good dreams).

Yes, his children were different (especially Jake). But, they were his children.

And his children were the best there were.

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><p>Published: 331/12

Hey, everyone! That was chapter 2 of Observations while Bonding; Behaviors: Fear. There will be other Behavior chapters, but I'm not sure what the next chapter I want to upload will be.

For reviewing, I want to thank Mayonaka no Sasayaki, Major Simi, and KMT. Thanks!

For putting this in their favorites, I want to thank Future Aviator!

And for putting this story in their alerts, I want to thank, again, Future Aviator, Mayonaka no Sasayaki, and Major Simi!

I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. Review please! (I kind of want to get more than three this time...)


	3. Behaviors: Anger

-Okay, in this story, I say that Jake knows some actual fighting skills in his human form.

-Warning: There is some violence in this chapter, and like two cuss words, but they're starred out; I still thought I should warn you guys, though.

-Disclaimer: American Dragon: Jake Long is not mine. I think I forgot to put it in the other chapters…Oops.

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><p><span>Chapter: 3-Behaviors: Anger<span>

It was a warm Saturday evening. The loud noises of police sirens, shrieking lyrics emitting from car stereos and house radios, and people yelling colorful words in multitudes of different languages out of their windows flowed into the air. Thin, yet repulsive vapor escaped from cracks in the manhole covers in the streets, filling the air with an unpleasant stench (It was so unpleasant that it actually left a taste on the tongue). Bright lights—both flashing and non-flashing—from colorful neon signs and streetlights replaced the natural lights from the stars above. To any other person who lived outside New York City, a night like this would too seem repulsive to take a walk—or even be out of their house for that matter—but to Jonathan Long, the night was normal and actually pleasant.

Jonathan was two blocks away from his home when he paused. He was standing in front of an alleyway between two apartments. He knew that this particular alley actually cut through the two blocks of different apartment complexes and would lead him right in front of his house. He had stumbled across this alleyway by accident on his way from work one day when his car broke down. Sure he had used this alleyway during the day, but did he dare use it at night? New York City was mostly safe during the day. At night, however, it was the exact opposite. A street that one would walk on everyday of their life during the day could possibly mean bodily harm (or death) if that person walked it at night.

Things indeed did go bump in the night (besides the usual thieves, muggers, rapists, etc.), especially magical things. Jonathan knew that now. Vampires liked to prey on unsuspecting people, eager to make a meal of their blood. Trolls would occasionally pop up from the sewers. And, from what Jonathan heard, the rare chimera would actually come prowling into the city streets under the night's guise, ready to pounce on any unlucky person who managed to cross its path.

Jonathan would take the risk, though. He had a good feeling that no harm would come to him tonight and that he would be okay.

Unfortunately for Jonathan, Lady Luck decided that he would be one of the odd people out whom she would not visit on this particular night. Little did he know that someone had been tailing him on his walk home.

With his bag of groceries in hand, Jonathan turned the corner of the alleyway. Jonathan was getting nervous for some reason—he had every right to be. The deeper he walked in the less light there was, as if the alley swallowed any light the penetrated its way. The noise from the streets completely dissipated, leaving Jonathan completely surrounded by eerie silence. He decided to speed up his pace. That was when he felt something slam into him, hard. Whatever it was had forced him front first into the wall, making him drop his groceries and making his face press painfully against the gritty brick of the alleyway wall. He felt a knife against his neck and a voice—a male voice—breathe right next to his ear. "Gimme whateva' ya got or else."

Oh how, _how_ had he gotten himself in this situation?

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><p><em>The Long family was bustling busily as they made their dinner for tonight. Everyone was helping; even Jake and Haley. Susan was making the main part of their dinner, not trusting anyone else to not burn the dinner (Jonathan would definitely burn the dinner, Haley was too young, and Susan wanted Jake to supervise over Haley). Jonathan was setting the table and Jake and Haley were busy with the salad. <em>

"_Jonathan," Susan said, "could you run to the store real quick? You know the one—the little corner store that's run by the short Mexican lady; it's not too far from here. I forgot to pick up the milk and eggs for the cake."_

_Jonathan stopped what he was doing and turned to his wife. "Sure thing, Honey-bun!" he said with a cheerful smile. "I'll be back in a jiffy." He stepped out from the kitchen and headed towards the door, grabbing his coat from the coat rack and slipping it on. Before he left, he heard Haley say excitedly, "Hurry back, Daddy! I want cake soon." _

"_Yeah, dad," said Jake. "Don't take too long."_

_He chuckled. "Don't worry kidos. I'll hurry back!" _

_And with that he left out the door and headed to the store._

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><p>He should have left the house a little before than he had, or even a little later! Just not when he had actually left! Jonathan's breath hitched as he felt the guy press the knife closer to his neck, threatening to draw blood. "C'mon old man! Hurry it up! I want ya money!"<p>

Jonathan put his hands up to show the guy he meant no harm. "I don't have any more money! I spent it all on the groceries I just bought, I swear!" He was telling the truth, actually. He did not grab his wallet when he left the house; all he did grab was just what he needed for the milk and eggs—just a few dollars and some change. The mugger, on the other hand, did not seem too pleased at Jonathan's answer. "Too bad I don' believe ya. Sorry pal."

He did not sound sorry at all.

Jonathan clenched his eyes shut and grit his teeth. He was actually going to die here. When Jonathan thought of how he was going to die, he always thought it would be from old age, a car accident (which were frequent in New York), or, since he found out about magic and magical creatures, even by some kind of magical incident. But no, here he was about to die by some mugger who would not find anything of value on his person once he killed him. He was going to bleed to death alone in this alleyway and his family was going to have to fend for themselves. His heart gave a painful wrench when his thoughts travelled to his family.

What would happen to them?

Would they be okay?

He started to think about his family. He thought of his beautiful wife Susan. He thought of when he first met her, their first date, their wedding, them raising the kids, and when he just saw here a while ago, making dinner. He thought of his daughter, his sweet little Haley. He thought of when she was first born, her first words, her first steps, her first day of school, him seeing her as a pink little dragon in Hong Kong, and her telling him to hurry back because she really wanted cake. Lastly, he thought of his wonderful teenage son Jake. Like Haley, he thought of when he was first born, his first steps, his first words, and his first day of school. He also thought about when Jake started using slang for the first time, when he brought him to Bring Your Child to Work Day, when he helped Jake and the other dragons at Victoria Peak in Hong Kong, and speaking to Jake for the last time a while ago.

Would they be able to live without him (as dramatic as that sounded)? Sure, Susan had a job, but would that be enough to provide for the family? She worked a lot during the day; her hours at her catering job were long and sporadic, making her on call at any point during the day. The added stress and hours of her getting another job would make her unfit to take care of the kids. Jake could mostly take care of himself, but he would also have to take care of Haley as well. Yes, Haley was a gifted child, but she was only nine! On top of that, Jake's responsibilities as the American Dragon would force him to leave at any point during the day (or night), especially now that he was older. With the kids by themselves, would social services take Jake and Haley away? He hoped not.

Unlike Lady Luck, however, Ms. Fate seemed to take a liking to Jonathan tonight. (Jonathan would never say that Fate was a b**** ever again.)

Just as he was sure his life was about to be ended, he felt the mugger be thrown off of him. Jonathan stumbled slightly but was able to spin around and see who his savior was. What he saw would surprise him until the day he died. "…Jake?" he breathed in surprise. Yes, it was indeed his son, Jake. In his state of shock, Jonathan slid against the wall and onto his butt, too stunned to stand on his feet.

Jake had actually managed to throw the mugger a good fifteen feet away, much farther than Jonathan would have ever suspected Jake could actually throw. The mugger picked himself from the ground with a slightly surprised look on his face, but the surprised look quickly changed to annoyance. "Oi, kid! Who da' hell do ya think ya are, eh? Go 'way 'fore I kill ya too!" Apparently that was the _wrong _thing to say to Jake. Even though Jonathan was on the ground, he could clearly see Jake's eyes glowing in the dark alley.

They weren't angry.

They were absolutely furious.

They were not the warm amber color they usually were when Jake was happy, nor were they the fiery orange-yellow color when Jake was playful or determined. His eyes, right now, were a fiercely cold, hard gold. They were unrelenting and unforgiving. Jonathan had seen Jake angry before when Haley was being annoying or when Trixie or Spud stole his skateboard for a whole week as a joke; however, Jonathan had never seen Jake _this _angry ever before. And he knew one thing for certain.

He did not want to see Jake like this again. Ever.

Jake let out a growl that rumbled through his chest and reverberated throughout the alleyway, not sounding entirely human in the slightest. "You said you were going to kill him?" Jake's voice was low and his tone was absolutely filled with unprecedented ferocity; Jonathan could tell that he was restraining himself from lunging at the guy at the very moment. The mugger visibly looked taken aback for a moment before he regained his cocky face. He gave an uncommitted shrug as he said, "Yeah, boyo. Ya know, life's tough and we all gotta make some money somehow, and 'dis is how I, eh, make mine, get it?"

And that was the last thing the guy would be saying for a long while.

With an unrestrained roar of anger, Jake hurled himself at the mugger, intent on beating the living tar out of him. Although surprised, the mugger was able to fling his knife right in Jake's direction—more specifically, his head. The knife sailed harmlessly above his head as Jake ducked. He continued running and leapt towards the wall of the alley. He popped off the wall and into a spinning kick that connected with the guy's head. The mugger's nose gave a very painful sounding crack as he stumbled backwards. As he clasped a hand to his face to try and staunch the bleeding, he said angrily, "Ya punk! Ya broke my nose! Ya gonna pay for 'dat, boyo!" The mugger dove into his pocket of his baggy sweatpants and whipped out a gun. "I was thinkin' of lettin' ya live, but now I'm gonna kill ya too!"

Jonathan's eyes widen in horror and fear—horror at the gun and fear for his son's safety. "Jake, look out!"

The mugger shot the gun, but luckily Jake was able to twist his body in such a way that the bullet missed him completely (the mugger apparently had bad aim). After pulling his body from the twist, Jake gave a ferocious swipe to the mugger's face, leaving four deep scratches that bled along with the guy's broken nose. "Ya punk! What 'da hell?" Blinded by pain, the mugger dropped the gun and Jake was able to kick it away to a safe distance. Jake had no trouble with grabbing the guy's hair tightly in his fist and bringing their faces level. He curled his lips back as he bared his teeth and growled in the mugger's face. The guy's eyes widened as he stuttered from both pain and fear, "Who-who d-da hell a-are ya?" Jake brought up his knee and slammed the guy's face into it, instantly knocking him out with the amount of force he used. "I'm that guy's son, you b******." Jonathan would scold Jake for cussing but considering the current situation, he thought he would let it slide just this once.

Immediately, Jake turned and ran toward Jonathan. "Dad! Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.

Jonathan took in the sight of his son. Jake had blood dripping from his finger tips on his right hand and smudged on his right knee; it was also on his clothes. Although the mugger did not get any hits in, Jake's clothes still looked scuffed up. He did indeed look like he got into a fight. Jonathan finally stood up and smiled at his son. "Yeah, Jake. I'm fine, thanks. But how on this golly green earth did you manage to find me?" He was still utterly baffled on how his son came in time.

Jake gave a toothy smile of his own and replied, "Mom thought you were talking too long, so she told me to go look for you. I wasn't even a half a block from the house when I heard shouting. Nobody else heard it, but I did. Enhanced hearing is good after all." He looked at the spilled gallon of milk and carton of broken eggs on the floor. "What are we going to do about the milk and eggs? Do you wanna go back to the store to get some more?"

"No," Jonathan said as he started walking out of the alley. He would rather go the long way and be safe than go through that again. "I only brought a few dollars and change for the milk and eggs. I didn't bring my wallet, so I don't have enough to get more. I'm sure you're mother will understand once we explain to her what happened."

"Cool. I wanna go home. I feel like I gotta take I shower from even being in contact with that loser. Ugh, he stank to high heaven! Having a powerful nose sucks sometimes!"

Jonathan just laughed.

What did he learn today?

Do not go into alleyways at night. They are dangerous. He also learned that dragons were apparently fiercely protective of their family and would become extremely angered when they were threatened. He also learned another important thing.

Do _not_ mess with an angry dragon.

It was simple: If no one threatened Jake's family, Jake would be okay. If his family was threatened, Jake would become very angry. When Jake was very angry, he would beat the living tar out of whoever was messing with his family.

See. Simple.

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><p>Published: 414/12

I am so sorry for the wait for this chapter you guys! I had the idea for this chapter in my head but I couldn't put it into words. It was so frustrating. So here's chapter 3: Behaviors: Anger, all done. I hope you all liked it.

Thank you all so much for reviewing, faving, and alerting. From chapter 2, I got 378 hits! :) 5 people faved and 11 people added this story to theri alerts. From now on, I'm just going to put whoever reviewed.

So thanx for reviewing (chapter 2): Miss Megs, Mayonaka no Sasayaki, Major Simi, Zack Hiwatari-Chan, and PuppetMaster55! :)

I have some ideas for chapter 4. Not sure when I'll update, though.


	4. Sickness: Part I

Hello again everybody! Here is chapter 4. I hope you all enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.

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><p><span>Chapter: 4-Sickness-Part I<span>

Jake Long woke up to a beautiful sunrise peeking out of his curtains. The sky was filled with multiple colors, ranging from different shades of orange to a pale pink. The rolling clouds were tinged with colors as well, reflecting them from the sky. Birds had just starts to sing their beautiful tunes to start of the new day. All in all, the scene was spectacular.

Unfortunately for Jake Long, the scene did not reflect the way he was feeling.

When Jake Long went to bed last night, he thought the next morning would actually be a good day. He managed to actually get at least nine hours of sleep, something that did not happen often. He finished all of his work for school—even his project for Mythology class (because Rotwood had actually managed to get a job in teaching his stupidly false views of magical creatures at the exact high school Jake went to)—with time to spare to hang out with Trixie and Spud _and _for dragon training. He even had time to spend with his family. So, yeah, Jake thought he would wake up for school and have a good day.

Unfortunately, that did not seem to be the case. He woke up feeling as though his whole body was on fire, even hotter than his own dragon fire. His skin was sweaty and chills racked through his frame. His body ached very badly, like he got pummeled with an ogre's club a hundred times. The sheets on his bed were damp with sweat and made him feel like he was warmer than before; he quickly kicked them, trying to cool himself down.

What was going on? What was happening to him? He was feeling just fine yesterday and even the day before. It occurred to him that this just came on suddenly, probably during the night or early hours of the morning. As he was lost in his thoughts he felt another shiver run through his body. He wanted to wrap the blankets around him to make the chills go away, but he knew that would make him warmer at the same time.

Jake had been awake for only ten minutes when he started to feel nauseous. He wrapped an arm around his stomach and groaned. Not only was he starting to feel nauseous, he felt as if someone was stabbing him right in his abdomen. He doubled over and let out a cry of pain as the pain in his stomach intensified.

Okay. It was time to get Mom and/or Dad.

There was no way in heck he was going to school like this.

Jake threw his legs on the edge of the bed and stood up. Just as he stood up, he felt a strong wave of dizziness pass over him, making him sway in place and fall right back onto the bed. He clapped a hand to his forehead. _"Alright…definitely not cool," _he thought to himself. _"Gotta stand up more slowly this time…" _He stood up slowly this time, being careful not to go too fast lest he fall over again. He still felt dizzy, but it was not as bad as before. He made his way out of his room and into the hallway and headed for his parent's room. He hoped they were awake. It was five in the morning after all; he guessed they would be getting ready for work or something. He did not get even three feet out of his doorway when another severe wave of vertigo crashed into him. He stumbled but he managed to catch himself by leaning on the wall, putting the majority of his body weight against it.

This was getting bad.

Very bad.

He leaned heavily against the wall as he inched forward, determined to get some kind of help. He was panting slightly and groaned again as the sharp pain in his stomach returned. He paused for a moment to as he waited for the pain to subside. With one arm around his stomach and the other on the wall, he trudged forward. It was taking most of his strength to even walk a few steps. His legs were shaking. He was ten feet from his parent's door, almost to the help he desperately needed. _"Yes! I'm almost there!" _Before he took another step, darkness began to creep at the corners of his vision, obstructing the view of his parents' door.

"_No, no, no! I only have a couple feet to go. No!" _

Unfortunately, he did not make it to his parents' room. With only five feet left, he slipped from the wall and hit the floor with a muffled thud. The darkness completely over took his vision and Jake passed out, oblivious to the world around him.

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><p>Jonathan Long had just woken up. He looked at the clock on the nightstand at the corner of his bed. It showed that it was 5:30, time to get up for work. Before he did that, however, he needed to get a good cup of coffee to start the day. He got out of bed, careful not to wake up Susan, and grabbed his robe and slipped it on. He silently made his way out of the room and shut the door with a soft click. As he turned to walk down the hallway, he stopped dead in his tracks.<p>

He saw his son sprawled on the ground a few feet from their door in the fetal position, not moving.

Jonathan dashed to his son, dropping on the ground to his knees. He picked him up from the floor and placed his upper body in his lap.

Jake did not look good at all. He was panting and gasping, as though he could not get enough air. He looked very clammy and his hair was matted to his forehead. His face was twisted in an agony filled grimace, and low groans of pain passed from his mouth. Jonathan could feel the strong shivers that racked through Jake's body. Even as he held on to him, he could feel the heat radiating of off Jake. He put a hand to his son's forehead and had to pull back quickly. It felt like he just put his hand on the stove!

"Jake, can you hear me? Jake!"

Jake did not show any sign that he heard Jonathan.

Jonathan was becoming dreadfully worried. He had hoped that Jake would at least respond to him. Speaking would have been wonderful, but even a pain filled groan or grimace to his question would have appeased Jonathan a bit; it would have meant that Jake at least heard him. He was completely unconscious, however.

"Susan!" he called to his wife. "Susan, Jake needs help, hurry!" It seemed that the mention of one of her children was enough to get Susan out of bed quickly. It was literally two seconds after Jonathan had called his wife when she burst out of the room, hurriedly making her way towards Jonathan and their son.

She had her sight set on Jake. "Jonathan! Oh my gosh! What happened to Jake?"

"I'm not sure." Jonathan responded. "I came out of the room to go get coffee and saw him on the floor." Judging by how damp the floor was from sweat around Jake, Jonathan surmised that he had been on the floor for a while. Not good. "I _am_ sure that he needs to be looked at _now_." He stood up, carrying his son in his arms in the bridal position to his bedroom. Jake whimpered in pain as he was moved. "Sorry, son," Jonathan whispered down to him even though Jake would not be able to hear him.

Susan changed the sheets for some new ones. Jake's old ones were covered in sweat and were bound to make him more uncomfortable if they put him in his bed with them on. Jonathan gingerly placed Jake onto the bed, trying not to cause him any more pain by unnecessary extra movement. He pulled the covers up to Jake's chin; it was probably best to let him sweat out whatever was raging through his body.

"He has a very bad fever," Jonathan told to Susan. Susan nodded and he watched as she bent over Jake and touched his forehead, and then pulled her hand back as if burnt—the same reaction he had. Her eyes widened and she spoke worriedly, "That's _very _hot. It feels like I burnt my hand! Jonathan, go get me the thermometer. It's in the bathroom in the medicine cabinet above the sink." Jonathan gave a nod and went to do just that. A few moments later, he returned with the thermometer. "I'll do it, Susan. I already have the thing in my hand."

Jonathan pressed the button on the thermometer, turning it on with a beep. He placed it in his son's mouth and waited apprehensively. What should have been a minute felt like an hour. _"What could possibly be taking so long? I need to know his temperature __**now**__! Even if someone has a fever, it shouldn't make the skin burn someone else's on contact!" _The high-pitched beep of thermometer jarred Jonathan out of his thoughts. He pulled the thermometer out of Jake's mouth and looked at the digital screen. He let out a gasp of surprise.

_108.6º F._

Susan reacted immediately to Jonathan's gasp. "Jonathan? Jonathan, what is it?"

Jonathan did not say anything, but he did shove the thermometer quickly into her hand. She fumbled with it slightly before looking at it. She gave out a small scream that was muffled by her hand. "Isn't 106 degrees lethal?" He nodded his head. "Yeah, and he's two degrees over that so we need to get him to a hospital! Let's go."

He spun quickly on his heel and made his way to the door. Before he could take a step out of the room he heard Susan's voice behind him. "I think we need to call my Dad first, Jonathan." He stopped and turned to look at her incredulously.

Call Lao Shi? Couldn't she see that their son's insides were cooking via intense fever? How could she possibly think of waiting and wasting time to call Lao Shi? (He had nothing against Lao Shi. The relationship between the two of them had improved since Hong Kong, but he wanted to get his son to a hospital fast enough so that he would live.)

"What's your father going to do? Susan, our son is being cooked alive. We need to get him to a hospital! The more time we waste talking, the sicker Jake is going to get!" Jonathan exclaimed.

"I know that, Jonathan!" she replied tersely, "but it might have something to do with him being a dragon. I heard that a dragon's body temperature is higher than that of a human's. Maybe Jake's temperature isn't lethally high. Maybe it's just a _slight_ fever for a dragon."

Well…that did make sense. "But Jake never gets sick! Ever!" That was true. Jake never got a cold, the flu, stomach aches—nothing.

"It could be a magical disease," his wife guessed.

"Alright," Jonathan said. "See if he can come over. Maybe he has some fancy potion thingy that will make Jake better."

Susan nodded and hurried out the room.

Jonathan sat on the edge of the bed and looked at his sick son. He reached down and brushed some of the dark hair from the teen's face.

"What's happening to you Jake?"

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><p>It was around six o' clock when Lao Shi arrived.<p>

Jonathan and Susan were sitting at the kitchen table anxiously, both drinking their now cold coffee. Susan stood up when she heard a knock at their door. "I'll get it, Honey."

She opened the door and Lao Shi immediately stepped inside. The Chinese man turned to hug Susan. "Hello, daughter." Susan hugged him back. "Hello, Dad. I'm so glad you came."

Lao Shi then turned to Jonathan. "Greetings, Jonathan," he nodded. Jonathan nodded back to him.

"I assume Jake is in his room, correct?" Lao Shi asked.

"Yes, we're really worried about him," Susan said. "We don't know what's wrong."

"What are his symptoms?" the Chinese man asked.

"He has a temperature of 108.6º F. He has really bad shivers, too," Jonathan said. "We found him unconscious, so we wouldn't know what other symptoms he has until he wakes up and we ask him ourselves."

Lao Shi hummed. "Well, 108.6º F is a fever for a dragon. A dragon's normal body temperature is around 103.6º F. Let us go see Jake, now."

They all headed up the stairs (1) and to Jake's room. Jonathan was the first one at the door. When he stepped inside, he did not expect Jake to already be awake.

"Dad…?" Jake asked tiredly.

"Hey, son. How're you feeling?"

Jake groaned. "Ugh…terrible; I feel like I got mauled by an ogre."

Susan and Lao Shi then stepped out from behind Jonathan. "Hey, Mom," Jake greeted. "Gramps! What are you doing here?"

"Hello, young dragon," Lao Shi said. "Your mother and father called me here. They think that your sickness is of magical origin. I came to see if that was true. Can you tell us specifically what you are feeling, Jake?"

"Y-Yeah," he tried to sit up but winced. "I woke up feeling like my whole body was on fire. I felt really dizzy. My stomach hurt really badly—like someone stabbed me—and I felt really nauseous. My whole body hurt really bad—still does; hurts to move. I tried to get to Mom and Dad's room but I passed out."

"Ah, I know exactly what you are going through, Jake," Lao Shi said.

"What's that, Gramps?"

"You are going through what every dragon goes through at your age. Dragon puberty (2)."

Jonathan watched as Jake's amber eyes widened and his honey-tanned skin pale.

Jake then proceeded to pass out, again.

Oh, boy.

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><p><span>Published<span>: 7/13/12

(1) I really don't know what the inside of the Long house looks like. I'm guessing the apartment is a two story one (i.e. one with stairs).

(2) Yes, I went there. You guys will find out what happens in the next chapter.

A/N: Guys, I am SO sorry for not updated for like 3 months; I am alive, though! I will not abandon this! Ironically when I first started writing this back in April, a few days afterwards, I got a bad fever! What are the chances that I write about someone having a fever and then I get one? Anyway, I was occupied recovering and making up work for a few weeks after that. Unfortunately, I lost inspiration for American Dragon: Jake Long. Then those evil school final exams came up.

After being parted from this story for so long, I lost inspiration for it. That is why this chapter was shorter than the others. That is also why this chapter is of lower…quality than the others. This chapter did not come out the way I wanted it to. It was going to have a lot more in it plot wise and it was going to be longer. Ugh. I need inspirational help! Those reviews that you all write me actually give me said inspiration. When I was writing this I actually went back to re-read all my reviews and P.M.'s that I got for the last chapter to get my inspiration back. So, guys, your reviews really do mean a lot to me.

Also, If you all like this story, go read my other American Dragon: Jake Long story: Instincts.

A/N 2: Speaking of reviews, I want to give a special shout-out to Lord Jace whose 5 paragraph-long P.M. and gorgeous reviews got me back into my own story. So thanks, Lord Jace.

A/N 3 (dear God, so many): This story has reached 1, 486 hits! Amazing! Thanks to all who reviewed chapter 3: (Mizuki99, Lord Jace, Lord Jashin Follower, Icy wolf, Linzerj, Major Simi, Mayonaka no Sasayaki, Elle, Ginshi-chan, and Aka-sama.


	5. Sickness: Part II

Hey Guys! Here is Chapter 5: Sickness-Part II. Enjoy~!

Disclaimer: I don't own American Dragon: Jake Long.

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><p><span>Chapter: 5-Sickness—Part II<span>

To say that Jonathan Long was surprised would be an understatement. Previously, he had been panicking over the sick state that his son was in. Then his father-in-law had told him that his son was not sick, but was actually going through Dragon Puberty. Although he was shocked, he definitely took the news better than Jake who was currently passed out on his bed.

"…Dragon Puberty?" he asked tentatively. Really, it did sound kind of…farfetched. But hey, he was still new to this magical thing.

Lao Shi must have picked up the uncertainty in his voice. "Yes. I know it sounds a little out there, but it _does_ happen."

Next to him Susan actually did not looked shocked, to Jonathan's own surprise. He turned his attention to her when she slapped her forehead and let out an 'oh'. "Susan," he said, "do you know anything about this?"

"Yeah," she sounded…relieved? "When I was growing up with my cousin (1), he suddenly got sick. He had the same symptoms that Jake has. I didn't know what was going on; I was really worried. Then he told me that he was going through Dragon Puberty and that I shouldn't worry because it wasn't too serious. Ugh! I should have known Jake was going through the same thing when I first saw him."

"It's all right, sweetie," he said. "What is happening to Jake now? What's causing which symptoms?"

Susan gave a sheepish shrug. "_That_ I don't know. My cousin pretty much kept to himself in his room during that time. All I know is that it looked like a regular sickness, like the flu or a really bad cold or something. And since I never had to go through it, I wouldn't be able to tell you through my own experience."

They both then turned to Lao Shi for explanation. The old man sighed. "Jake is—and will be—in for a rough time. His body is going through many changes that will cause him pain."

Jonathan's body gave a slight jerk. Pain? He did not want his son in pain.

Lao Shi continued, "The dizziness he said he was experiencing—that is caused by his eyes, also possibly his ears. His eyes are developing even more, _enhancing _if you will. The same goes for his ears. His senses are enhancing, becoming stronger. He will probably develop a headache as well."

"What else?" Susan questioned.

"His body aches are being caused by his muscles and bones. His bones are strengthening themselves, becoming denser and stronger. His muscles are also becoming stronger; expect a bit more muscle mass on him within the next few days. His stomach pains will probably get worse as time goes on."

Jonathan remembered the time he had almost got killed by a mugger a few days ago. He saw how strong Jake was—easily able to throw a fully grown man a good fifteen feet away and effortlessly able to knock the man out with one knee to the face. Jonathan had a sure feeling that Jake was holding back, and that the little display of power he had showed was only a fraction of Jake's real power. If that was Jake holding back, Jonathan could not fathom Jake getting any stronger (2).

He then thought to the last part of what Lao Shi said. "Worse? Why are they getting worse?" he asked quite worriedly.

"It is nothing too serious. It is just another internal organ that is catching up with the rest of his body. One cannot have something happen so drastically to only one part of their body—it is 'all or nothing' as you Americans say."

Jonathan nodded. That made sense to him. Lao Shi spoke again. "Another thing: Jake will start to feel chest pains and his throat will start to hurt. This is in tandem with how we dragons are able to breathe fire. Dragons are able to create a very flammable gas in their lungs. This is half of the fire-breathing process. The other part has to do with the throat. At the back of the throat is small, hard piece of cartilage. When this piece of cartilage rubs against the back of the throat, which is also quite rough, the friction creates a spark which ignites the flammable gas that gets breathed out."

Jonathan and Susan blinked. "Wow, I did not think that's how dragons breathe fire," Jonathan remarked.

Lao Shi nodded. "Yes. Now, while Jake was able to breathe fire before, his lungs are growing stronger to handle the more powerful flammable gas and his throat is changing because denser cartilage. These changes will cause him the pain. However, a positive result of this is that Jake will be able to breathe hotter, more powerful fire."

"Okay," Jonathan nodded slowly. "Is there anything else we need to know about what will happen to Jake on top of all this?"

"Yes, there is one more thing. His skin will start peeling, molting if you will. This is because his skin is becoming more durable and stronger. Things like paper cuts will be a thing of the past. Something with actual force behind it only would be able to cut Jake. He can take more powerful hits to his body too. Bruising would only happen if, say, someone who was very strong were to strike him with a metal baseball bat. Jake's skin will become even more heat resistant than before. He would be able to put his hand on a hot stove without any damage."

_That _was something that Jonathan thought was amazing. He had no idea that dragons were so…different than humans, both internally and externally. He flashbacked to the night where he had woken Jake up from a nightmare. He remembered having to wrap up his son's bloodied hands because he had accidently shredded his palms with his black claws. That memory raised a question in Jonathan's mind.

"If he won't be able to get cut so easily," he asked, "would he still be able to get cut by another dragon's claws?"

Lao Shi blinked at him, not expecting the question. "If they had enough force behind them, yes they would. Fully grown dragons get cut by other dragons if they do fight, on the rare occasion (3). However, if an inexperienced dragon, like Haley, who has not gone through her Dragon Puberty, were to scratch a grown dragon, like myself, I would receive no damage. Haley's claws would not be strong enough."

"Well that's good, I guess," Susan said. "Jonathan, I am going to get Haley up and ready for school. I can't stay to look after Jake; I have too many clients booked today. Can you stay with him, please?"

Jonathan nodded. "Sure thing, honey-bun. I've worked so many days and clocked in plenty of overtime hours that I am _pretty _sure allows me more than a few days off."

Susan smiled and gave Jonathan a peck on the lips before stepping out of the room.

Jonathan turned back to Lao Shi who was standing there passively. "Is there anything we can do to help Jake through this? I mean, from all the changes you told us would be happening inside his body, they sound really painful."

He shook his head. "Sadly there is not much we can give that would help much. Tea helps to calm the stomach a bit and soothe the throat, but it will not help the other pains he will experience. It might help to relax his body, but knowing Jake, that will not happen. I also have a balm that might help during the molting. Other than the balm and tea, there is nothing else I can offer."

"…How long is this puberty thing going to last?"

"Including today, just short of a week; it really depends on the dragon. Since every dragon is different, the period of time they go through this varies. It could be three days or it could be six. I can assure you that it will not last a full week, if that makes you feel any better."

"Uh, yeah, I guess it does. Thanks," he said. He did not know exactly why it helped ease is mind a bit. Maybe it was the fact that Jake might not have to suffer through this for more than just a few days.

"I will stay with you for a while, Jonathan," Lao Shi said. "I will explain to him what is going on when he wakes up. After that I must go to the shop to open for today. I do not trust Fu-dog not to break anything in that store …" The old man started to walk out of the room, ranting in irate Chinese.

Jonathan shook his head as he moved across the room and sighed tiredly as he sat down in the chair next to Jake's bed. His head was swimming with all this new information. _"Bones changing, muscles changing, internal organs changing—this is just unimaginable! That kind of stuff takes __**years**__ to happen, not days! No wonder Jake's in pain," _he thought uneasily. Really, no parent was okay with their child in any kind of pain, no matter how old the child got.

He turned his head to the side to look at his son who was still unconscious in his bed. Even unconscious, Jake did not look like he was getting any sort of relief. His brow was furrowed and sweat rolled down his face. His eyes were clenched together tightly and his face had a pasty look about it, starkly contrasting his normal honey-tan. He had managed to curl himself on his side into the fetal position, arms wrapped around his stomach. Jonathan could see the tremors that racked his body.

The man pulled some light sheets over Jake, trying to ease the tremors. It seemed to help as the shivering died down after a few moments. Jonathan carded his fingers through Jake's messy green hair; an action that he knew always comforted Jake, unconsciously or not. Jake leaned into the hand and emitted the odd growl-purr sound (4) that brought an amused and fond smile to Jonathan's face.

"You'll be okay, Jake," Jonathan whispered softly. "I'll take care of you."

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><p>It was now around 7: 50 in the morning, and one could find Jonathan in the kitchen drinking coffee at the kitchen table. Susan had just left with Haley to take her to school. Let it be known that Haley Long did not care for her big brother. Yes, Haley would often try to make it seem that she was smarter than Jake and such, but at the end of the day she really did care for Jake. Today, when he and Susan told her what happened to Jake, she did not make fun of what happened to him—Jonathan had the feeling that she sort of knew what he was going through; she was a dragon, after all. No, she was genuinely concerned for Jake. She even promised to help take care of him when she got home from school. That had made a smile appear on Jonathan's face. He liked to see his kids getting along, even though this might not be the most ideal situation for that to happen.<p>

Jonathan himself looked like a wreck. His hair was a mess, his clothes were wrinkled, and his eyes were half-lidded with tiredness. _"Too much commotion too early in the morning…"_ he thought blearily. Just as Jonathan took an idle sip from his coffee, he heard an indignant 'Aw, man!' come from upstairs.

"_Well, it looks like Jake woke up," _he thought as he took another sip of his coffee.

He would need it.

He finished the last of his coffee—which was now lukewarm—and got up and put the dirty mug in the sink. He would wash it later. The man walked up the stairs and maneuvered to Jake's room. The door was open and he saw his son sitting up tiredly against a bolster of pillows and Lao Shi sitting on the chair next to the bed. The two dragons were conversing in low voices, so low that Jonathan could not understand what they were saying. _"I guess dragons don't need to talk very loud since they can hear the smallest of sounds,"_ Jonathan mused in his head. He knocked lightly on the door frame to announce his presence (even though they had probably already heard him walk up the stairs).

"Hey, sport. I'm guessing your grandpa explained everything to you then?" he said rhetorically as he walked into the room.

Jake looked up from his bed to Jonathan. "Hey, dad. Yeah, this is just so not cool! This is so messed up…" he trailed off as he rubbed his throat. Jonathan guessed his throat was already started to bother him.

"I hear you, son, but it'll be okay. I'll be taking care of you today, since your grandpa is gonna leave in a bit."

Jake turned to Lao Shi. "You're not staying, Gramps?" The teen looked saddened to hear that his grandfather, who knew and could empathize with everything that was happening to him, was leaving.

"I am sorry, Jake," Lao Shi said as he stood up from where he was sitting, "but I do have a store to manage. Like I told your father, I do not trust Fu-dog not to break anything." The old man then muttered some…interesting Chinese words here. "But do not worry, young dragon. I will visit again either later today or tomorrow."

"Bye, Gramps," Jake said as he waved goodbye. The Chinese man smiled and turned to Jonathan. "I will let myself out, Jonathan. You can stay here with Jake." He then left the room.

Jonathan and Jake sat in a comfortable silence for several moments after Lao Shi left. "What now?" Jake asked. Jonathan ran his fingers through his son's hair and said, "Now Jake, _you _are going to wait while I go make tea for you to drink."

The look on Jake's face was both priceless and scandalous. "Tea?! Ugh, that stuff is gross!"

Jonathan knew he would say exactly that. He knew Jake hated most teas with every fiber of his being. The reason for this was actually partially Jonathan's own fault. When Jake was younger—about five or six years old—Jonathan had accidently given the child a cup of tea with spoiled tea leaves. Jake was put off of tea ever since. However, Jake _would _drink only one kind of tea, Kuding tea, oddly enough. It was actually his favorite kind of tea. This was really strange because Kuding (5) tea was particularly bitter. Not even Lao Shi could drink Kuding tea without adding copious amounts of sugar and/or milk. Jake, however, would drink his Kuding straight—no sugar, no milk, no nothing.

Luckily, Jake's favorite tea was currently stocked in their pantry. Luckily again, Jonathan knew how to get his son to drink the tea.

"So you don't want any tea?" he asked Jake with a curious tone.

Jake vehemently shook his head—which Jonathan could tell he regretted because he held his head in his hands right afterwards—and said certainly, "Nope! No way."

Jonathan knew what to do. "Uh huh. Even if I make your favorite? It's Kuding, Jake."

Jake paused for a moment before giving a half-shrug and turning his head the other way. He mumbled a sound as his answer. Jonathan knew that Jake was getting tempted.

"What if I put in your favorite mug~? (6)You know the one, the red one with the gold letters and the gold dragon on it~."

"…"

"…"

"…Make sure the Kuding is really hot, please."

"_Kuding tea in his favorite mug. Get's him eeeeeverytime…"_ Jonathan thought as he walked out of the room with a satisfied and victorious grin on his face.

* * *

><p><span>Published: <span>9/16/12

A/N: Hey guys, it's me again. Sorry (yet again) for making you all wait for this chapter. I've been in school since August, which was less than a month since I had previously updated before. I'm a junior in high school which means tons of homework for me. That also means less free time, which equals less writing time. Evil teachers…

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! And please review, but PLEASE, guys don't leave one word or one sentence reviews like "So cool!" or "Please update!" or "Continue this!"

I would really like reviews that have actually substance to them. The ones that say how you all think I'm doing, how I might improve, your opinions and wishes for what you guys might want to happen, etc. Those reviews really help me when I write. I cannot tell you how sad I was to see after two months, finally getting a review and it saying something like "This is cool. Please update!"

A/N 2: Also guys, I have polls up on my page frequently. However, not a lot of people actually go on them. I keep them up there for actually long periods of time so everyone can get a chance to vote, and I always announce when I will take them down. The polls may not have anything to do with what genre of fan fiction you read, but I do like it when people vote.

A/N 3: Thanks to the peeps who reviewed chapter 4: MerlinJustGiveMeTheMuffins, Lord Jace, Linzerj, Major Simi, Ginshi-chan, and Miss Megz. (Only 6 reviews?! Guys, you're killing me!)

(1): I don't know how Susan grew up. All I do know is that her family members are dragons. So, I assume that she ended up growing up with dragon cousins or something that were around her age.

(2): Jonathan isn't horrified by his son or anything, if you guys were thinking that. He just literally can't think of how powerful Jake can really be.

(3): The rare occasion is the dragons fighting. If you guys remember, dragons are actually peaceful creatures that don't really fight. The only ones who actually fight are Jake and Lao Shi.

(4): This sound that Jake makes was first seen at the end of chapter 2.

(5): Kuding tea is a Chinese tea that is particularly bitter tasting. Some things that Kuding does are that it's supposed to alleviate coughing and transform phlegm. It does other stuff, but I didn't want to type ALL that information. So, go on Wikipedia and look up Kuding tea.

(6): Jake's mug was first described in chapter two.


	6. Update!

**_12/23/12: _**

**_HEY YOU GUYS! Bad news...my laptop is being repaired right now and I'm actually typing this up on my mom's computer. So...I can't update any of my stories! All of my chapters and notes and information on ALL of my stories are ON THAT LAPTOP! I can't type up my chapters without any idea of whee I had benn going in the first place! Ugh! I'm sorry you guys. I was totally on planning to update both of my stories now that I am on break from school. Now, I can't do that because THE REPAIR SHOP WON'T GIVE ME MY LAPTOP BACK!_**

**_Okay...I'm done ranting. I hope you guys understand. :)_**

**_Ms. MusicLover_**


	7. Sickness: Part III

**I. AM.**** BACK!**

**As I was writing this chapter (and looking back to my previous chapters) I realized that I might have some readers that are actually Chinese out there. The extra information that I get (like about the Chinese tea and other stuff) is from Wikipedia. I really, really hope that no one has been offended by my story in any way! If I have made any mistakes, please correct me.**

_-After the extremely long wait (which I sincerely apologize for), here is Chapter 6! Enjoy, you guys! Thank you for your patience! :)_

_Remember to comment and review to tell me how this chapter turned out! Your thought and opinions are also very welcome!_

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter: 6-Sickness—Part III<span>

After giving his son his tea, Jonathan sat with Jake for a while. Jonathan knew how much Jake hated—no, _despised_—to be stuck in bed, so he tried to keep him entertained with conversation (he would let Jake go downstairs later). They talked about everyday things—in Jake's case, it was skateboarding, Trixie and Spud, 'stupid' Rotwood—Jonathan was quoting right there, and dragon training; and in Jonathan's case it was his job, his grumpy boss, and his own little blunders trying to figure out the magical world (this last topic made Jake laugh, which Jonathan was happy to see). As he looked at Jake, Jonathan noticed that the boy looked and sounded a bit better; his voice sounded less scratchy, he looked more focused and not as dizzy, and his skin had gained back a little of his natural color.

"Do you need anything else, Jake?" Jonathan asked with a smile.

"Nah, I'm okay, Dad," Jake said passively. "But, uh…I think _you _might be the one who needs something."

"Hm?" Jonathan raised an eyebrow in question. What could _he_ possibly need? He felt A-okay!

"Uh, Dad?" Jake said with a slight grin as he pinched his nose and playfully waved a head in front of his face, "you seriously need a shower. You're a mess, yo! Pee-yoo!" Jonathan flushed a bit, but he knew from the snickers escaping his son that Jake was joking and did not think he actually smelled bad. However, he knew that he really needed to clean himself up.

The man rolled his eyes and as he stood up from his spot in the chair, he reached over and lightly swatted his son across the back of the head. "Really funny, mister. Since you think I smell _so bad_, I think I'll excuse myself for a shower." Before he left the room, however, he made sure that his son had everything he needed. "Do you need anything in the meantime?"

Jake shook his head with a toothy grin on his face, allowing Jonathan to clearly see his pointed canines. "Nope! I'll be okay, Dad. Seriously, you worry too much."

Jonathan pointedly chose to ignore that comment. He wanted to tell Jake the reason why he was so worried—a parent finding their child collapsed on the ground and very sick was quite a good reason to worry—but, he chose not to. Instead he said, "Try not to get bored in the twenty or so minutes I'm gone, Jake-aroo."

"I'll try not to," came the dry reply in typical teenage fashion.

* * *

><p>After taking about the twenty or so minutes it took to get himself cleaned up and dressed, Jonathan walked out of his room with a towel around his neck, catching the drops of water that dripped from his still damp hair. <em>"Hopefully Jake's…sickness didn't flare up again. He was fine when I left…"<em> he thought mentally. Jonathan's hopes faltered, though, when he heard the sound of retching from the hallway bathroom. Jonathan's worry increased ten-fold. "Jake?!" he shouted as he quickened his pace toward the bathroom door.

He knocked on the wooden door. "Jake?" he asked once again. He winced a bit as he heard the sound of vomiting as his answer. "I'm coming in, son." Jonathan turned the metal door knob and opened the door, only to be welcomed by the sight of his son kneeling on the cold tile floor and face in the toilet. He hurried toward his son and kneeled down next to him, gently rubbing his back.

After a few minutes, Jake's pale face emerged from the toilet, his amber eyes slightly cross-eyed. He groaned out a low greeting, "Hey, Dad."

"Are you okay, Jake?" he asked as he helped his son off the floor. "I thought you were feeling better?"

"I was, but I started to get nauseous again and…here I am."

"I'm guessing the tea didn't really help that much, huh?"

"Only for like, ten minutes or something."

Jonathan had to help Jake back to his room since he was still dizzy. It was only about twelve o'clock in the afternoon, and Jonathan did not know what to do. He knew that he was feeling a little bored, and if _he_ knew he was starting to feel bored, then he knew that Jake was definitely bored out of his mind. Jake never really was the kind of boy to stay in the house all the time. Ever since he was little, he was always outside—and even when he was inside, he was doing _something_, at the least.

Jake leaned back against his bed, looking tired and woozy. The boy puffed out an annoyed breath as he crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled, "…This totally sucks. I hate this. Being sick sucks." Jonathan could tell that Jake was frustrated with all of this.

"I know, Jake," Jonathan tried to appease his son, "but there's nothing you can really do about it other than resting. I know I can't imagine what you're going through, but I'm here for you. And, as your designated caretaker for today, I am going to make sure that you are in tip-top shape!"

Jake stared at Jonathan for a good minute. "Please don't tell me we're going to sing sing-a-long songs and junk, Dad."

Jonathan put a hand over his heart and said in mock-sorrow, "Oh ye of little faith!" He shook his finger at Jake in a mock-chastising manner. "No, we're not. We are going to do something super fun and super cool, Jakers!"

Jake raised a skeptical eyebrow at Jonathan. "…Like?"

Jonathan clapped his hands together. "Like going downstairs to play videogames, of course!"

Jonathan knew he made the right suggestion when he saw his son's fanged smile.

* * *

><p>Downstairs in the living room, Jonathan was on the Laz-E Boy chair while Jake was stretched out on the couch, wrapped up in a thick blanket. "Dad," Jake called out to his father, "you sure you wanna play this? I mean, I know you're not really…into…videogames and stuff. Actually, I don't even think I've ever seen you play videogames!"<p>

"Sure I'm into videogames, Jake!"

The expression on Jake's face was one that Jonathan was able to very clearly read—only because he was a parent and Jake's expression was the one that teens knew right when they entered teen-hood. It clearly read: _[Parental unit], you are clearly not telling the truth. Why are you trying to act cool? It is not working. Please stop trying to [fill in action that is being attempted]._ "Really?" Jake asked skeptically.

"Yep," Jonathan lied.

He was promptly handed a PlayStation 3 controller.

After only ten minutes of getting his butt beaten at Call of Duty, Jonathan was starting to reconsider his idea to play videogames. Maybe he _should_ have just stuck to board games and talking.

Loud sounds and bright flashes of light came from the television when several cars exploded in sequence one after the other in the game. Jonathan had to admit, the special effects and graphics of the game were amazing! They all looked so life-like and real! He never knew I game could look so real! The special effects were not the only things he noticed, however. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jake wince.

Jonathan was confused. Was there something in the game that Jake did not like? Then another though came: was he getting another flare-up?

He did not say anything in order to observe Jake—if Jonathan did not say anything, then maybe if he saw Jake wince again, he could figure out _why_ he was wincing. So, several minutes passed and several more explosions and bright flashes came from the television. Even though he was looking out for his son, a particular thought could not help but pass through his mind, _"Well, at least now I know what bombs actually look and act like."_

Brushing that thought aside, he once again looked over at Jake when another explosion resounded from the television. Jake grimaced and rolled his shoulders up, close to his ears, looking very uncomfortable about something. When a rocket was launched at an enemy on the television a bright fiery flash colored the living room an intense and vivid yellow and orange. It was at this time when Jake blinked hardly and _tried to_ discreetly rub his eyes.

"_Okay,"_ Jonathan mused, _"The loud explosions make Jake look extremely uncomfortable, like something is hurting him. Whenever the screen gets really bright, he winces or flinches and blinks and rubs his eyes like they're irritated." _

Another explosion drew his attention out of his mind. Jake grimacing once again reinforced his conclusion._ "I think some of the other symptoms are starting to kick in."_ Jonathan decided it was time to take action. Pausing the video game—he only just figured out how to about ten minutes ago—and ignoring his son's weak protest, he turned to Jake.

"Okay, Jake, what's wrong?" he asked.

Jakes face was completely neutral, minus the little twitch in his left eyebrow. "What makes you think something's wrong?"

Jonathan did not budge. "Jake, I can see that you keep flinching and rubbing your eyes whenever the television gets very loud and/ or bright. I'm not oblivious."

"Never said you were oblivious," the teen said without missing a beat. If anyone else was in the room, Jake's voice would have sounded perfectly level; however, Jonathan could pick out a small dip in his tone at the end of his sentence. "I'm okay, Dad. Really." And there was that eyebrow twitch again, slightly more prominent than before. Honestly, did Jake feel like he was fooling him? He was his father for Pete's sake.

Jonathan raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "Jake, you're not fooling anyone."

"Really, yo! I'm A-ok!" Jake insisted.

Jonathan's raised eyebrow, flat look and crossed arms conveyed the '_I'm-not-believing-it'_ look. He had a stare-down with his son that lasted several minutes. Without blinking, Jonathan intensified the _'I'm-not believing-it'_ look as he stared down into his son's golden eyes that were starting to get a bit twitchy. Jonathan had to give Jake some credit; the kid lasted a good several more minutes before he cracked. "Okay! Okay! Jeez," he huffed as he rubbed behind his neck, "I give! Just stop giving me that look."

Jonathan tried to keep a triumphant look off his face. "How'd you know, Dad?" Jake asked with a face that was slightly curious and slightly disappointed—the kind of disappointed where a kid tries to be slick and get away with something but fails.

He gave Jake a flat look. "I'm your _dad_, Jake. I've been taking care of you for fifteen years," he said in a tone that should have explained it all. Basically, it was said in the tone of _'duh'_.

Jake's cheeks flushed and Jonathan knew it was not due to him being sick. "Oh, yeah," Jake laughed sheepishly as he rubbed behind his neck again. He shrugged of his thick blanket and stood up. Well, _tried_ to stand up would be a better choice of words.

"Whoa…" Jake muttered as he swayed in his spot. Luckily Jonathan was next to him in a second to keep him balanced. "You okay there, Jake?" Jonathan asked. _"I really feel like this question is getting quite redundant today,"_ he sighed mentally.

"Y-yeah," Jake replied as he blinked heavily and rubbed his eyes with his hand in an irritated manner. "I just got dizzy for a sec…and it's…uh…actually getting' kinda hard to see."

"Aaaaaand _that's _our cue for us to get you into bed, mister," Jonathan said as he guided slowly his son up the stairs, careful of Jake's currently spotty balance. After a rather long five minutes of going up the stairs, Jonathan got Jake back into his bed. By the time the teen had laid down again, he looked worse than before. He kept rubbing his temples and his eyes and keeping his eyes clamped shut.

"Open your eyes, Jake," Jonathan ordered softly as he crouched next to the bed. "I need to see if they if anything wrong with them."

A brief flash of grumpiness passed over Jake's face, but he did so anyway. When he opened his eyes, Jonathan noticed that instead of being a bright amber-golden color, they were a dull, muted gold almost leaning toward a bronze color. In the light of the room, Jake's eyes should have glowed . Remembering what the doctor would always do on his visits to the clinic, Jonathan took out his wallet from his pocket which had a small, mini-flashlight connected to a metal ring.

"Alright, Mr. Grumpy-pants, I'm going to shine this in your eyes for a second—please don't make that face—so that I can see them more clearly and make sure everything's okay."

Jonathan shined the flashlight into both of Jakes eyes, briefly enough it would not cause him major discomfort yet long enough so Jonathan could see them clearly (1). Jonathan remembered his brief time as a volunteer in a hospital—a time before he met Susan. He remembered the practices and drills that the doctor he was helping taught him. And, as he shined the little flashlight into his son's eyes, those lessons came to the forefront of his mind.

_Check for pupil dilation_. Jake's reptilian slit pupils, which should have been very sensitive to the light and should have shrunken immediately, were unresponsive. The reason as to why was obvious: the kid's pupils were so dilated that there was only a thin oval shape of the dull, muted gold around them (2).

"_Well, __**that **__makes it obvious why he can't see properly," _he thought dryly as he flicked the mini-flashlight off and slipped it and his wallet back into his pocket. Before he could say anything, Jake surprised him by speaking first.

"Lemme guess, my pupils are totally blown, right?" he asked in a slightly sarcastic tone.

Ignoring the tone, Jonathan replied, "How'd you know?"

"Gramps explained everything while you were downstairs earlier. He said that the changes in vision and hearing were to be expected. And this headache I got is no surprise either," he grimaced as he rubbed his temples once again.

Jonathan blinked in a vaguely surprised manner. "You have a headache?"

"Mm-hmm. Started when we were playin' video games, I guess."

Humming, Jonathan stood up from his crouch and rubbed his lower back, then left the room, grumbling that he was getting too old all the way out of the room.

"Where you going', Dad?" Jake asked, hearing more than seeing Jonathan leave.

"Just getting you some medicine," Jonathan said as he stepped into the bathroom. He knew Jake would hear him what with his enhanced hearing and all.

"…But Gramps said medicine wouldn't help!" Jonathan heard Jake's voice say.

Opening the medicine cabinet above the sink, Jonathan replied, "It might not help with most of the stuff, but magical or not, pain in pain. I'm sure that some Tylenol or something will help, at least somewhat." He let out a small _'Aha!'_ when he found what he was looking for. He grabbed the little white bottle from the second shelf and closed the medicine cabinet. He opened the cabinet underneath the sink to grab a spare washcloth, and he wet it with lukewarm water. He closed the cabinet and exited the bathroom, turning off the light as he left.

When he stepped into his son's dimly lit room once again, he saw his son sitting up in his bed. His head was slightly down but Jonathan could still see his eyes. Jonathan knew that in light conditions such as this, Jake's eyes would usually glow brightly, but now they glowed very dimly, like lights powered by dimming batteries. He saw those two dim eyes snap up when he entered the room.

As Jonathan neared his son's bed, he noticed quite oddly that Jake's eyes did not follow him—it was more like Jake's head followed Jonathan's movements. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he sat at the edge of Jake's bed. "Jake?"

"Hmm?" Jake moved his head toward Jonathan's direction. "Oh, hey, Dad," he said nonchalantly.

"I got the medicine," Jonathan said carefully as he watched his son continue to stare straight ahead.

"That's great. But there's a…teeny, tiny problem," Jake said with an odd tone to his voice.

"And that is…?"

"Umm…I kinda can't _see_," Jake tried to say in his best calm and nonchalant voice. _Tried_ was the operative word as his voice was neither very calm nor nonchalant.

"You can't _see_?!" Jonathan parroted incredulously, yet with a tone of worry underlying in his voice. One could not blame him, really. His son went from having blurry vision to not being able to see! "How bad can you _not see_?!"

Jake rubbed behind his neck in his typical sheepish manner. "Uh, like one hundred percent blindness."

Jonathan rubbed a tired hand over his over his face. He sighed, but tried to keep his frustration out of his sigh—Jake was very perceptive, after all. He was not frustrated at Jake in anyway, no sir. He was just frustrated at this second puberty thing that, really, just acted like some kind of very bad illness.

Jonathan popped opened the bottle and dumped two pills into his hand. Grabbing an already half-empty water bottle from Jake's bedside table, he handed Jake the pills and the water. "Drink up, Jake, and get some rest."

Jake nodded and was able to grab the handed items with surprising accuracy. Jonathan felt like he should not be so surprised; Jake's enhanced hearing probably gave him very good depth perception and such.

As Jake lied down, Jonathan took the damp washcloth and placed it over Jake's forehead and eyes. Jake flinched a bit from the unexpected wet feeling on his face. "Don't worry. It's just a wet washcloth." Jonathan smoothed over Jake's dark green hair. "To help with your headache."

Jake dipped his head into a slight nod. After a few seconds, he spoke up, "I seriously think that I've slept enough, yo."

"Uh-huh," Jonathan said as he got up from the edge of Jake's bed. He threaded his fingers through Jake's hair one more time before he started to walk towards the wooden door. Before he stepped out and closed the door, he heard his tired son's voice drift through the air.

"Thanks, Dad."

Jonathan smiled. "Not a problem, son."

* * *

><p>And done!<p>

Published: 5/18/13

A/N: I know it's been months since I last updated. I've finally have my laptop fixed; _FINALLY_ gotten a break from homework after months of tests, homework, papers, and projects; and finally gotten some inspiration back for this story.

A/N 2: I've gotten so many reviews since the last chapter I updated! And because of this, I won't list all the names of my reviewers as I normally do. So, I'll just say thanks so much to all the people who reviewed, supported, followed and favorited (despite the super long wait)!

A/N 3: I have to admit, this is just a filler chappie. More stuff will probably happen in the next one.

Though, I want to say that reviewer, Mary, brought to my attention that it was actually explained in the show how dragons breathe fire (via glands in their bodies). I was not aware of this when I wrote it, so…meh. Also, another reviewer (whose review I just _cannot _find right now!) also brought to my attention that my theory of how dragons breathe (fire) does not work for the dragons that breathe lightning and ice and the sort. Woops.

(1) Okay, so normally when your pupils get very dilated, you can't see as well. I'm using my experience of me going to the eye doctor and the doctor putting these special drops into my eyes which caused them to dilate severely. So, I had very blurry vision for several hours. In Jake's case, his eyes are actually _changing_, so I made the effect a little more extreme than just blurry vision.

Also, even though Jake is a human, keep in mind that he has animal like eyes. When you shine lights into animals' eyes, the light is normally reflected right back at you (like a cat's eye). Obviously I can't make Jake's eyes do that or else every time he would go to the doctor and get a check up and the doctor would shine their little flash light thingies in his eye, the doctor would see that (bright) light being reflected right back and know that Jake's not normal.

(2) So, normally when you're eyes are dilated you have that ring of iris around them. (Your iris is your eye color). Obviously since Jake's pupils aren't perfectly spherical like ours and is slit-like like an animal, there isn't going to be a perfectly circular ring of iris around them. So, I imagined them to be an oval kind of shape.


	8. Sickness: Part IV

_Heeeeeeeeey. So, yeah it's kinda been over a year since I've updated this….I'm alive! I'm not dead! Just extremely busy. Plus I kinda just lost interest in the AD:JL fandom for the longest time (other stuff took its place). But I'm trying to get myself back into it and I'm gonna wrap up this arc—it's taking too many chapters to write and I don't want it to drag on. So, with a ridiculously long wait, here is chapter seven!_

_Oh, and thank you sooooo very much to all my reviewers who remained loyal and kept sending me reviews and P.M.'s with their thoughts, suggestions, and general emotions about this fic even though I had gone on a long impromptu hiatus. Thank you! _

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon: Jake Long.

* * *

><p><span>Chapter: 7-Sickness—Part IV<span>

Jonathan was glad that he was able to get Jake to go asleep again. He was certain that what he would really need for the next few days would be sleep. While he was glad for his son resting, he did not, however, expect for his son to continue to rest late into the evening.

It was now 5:30 in the evening and both Haley and Susan were home from school and work, respectively. They had been surprised to see that Jake had not been awake when they had come home earlier that afternoon. Even though they did not show it on their faces, Jonathan could tell that they were worried. He was as well.

Jonathan guessed that all the changes Jake was going through were bound to tire the boy out. If Jake did not wake up for dinner and slept all night, that would be okay with Jonathan; Jake needed all the rest he could get.

Jonathan, Susan, and Haley set the table, making sure they left a plate of food in Jake's spot, in case he did come down. Tonight they were having fried tofu with shrimp and rice. The Long family had a tradition that at least once a week they would traditional Chinese food, more specifically Cantonese (They could not have pizza and hamburgers every night, after all.) (1) Jonathan thought that tradition was really cool—it made him feel closer to his family's culture, even if it was just through food. So, this meant that every week, Jonathan would sit at the dinner table try his best with his very clumsy fingers to eat with chopsticks. It never ended well.

Just like now.

He ignored his wife and daughter's stifled giggles as he dropped yet another piece of shrimp from his chopsticks. He sighed, and like every week, he had to resort to stabbing the food like a spear in order to eat. Well, at least he tried. Just as he popped a piece of shrimp in his mouth, he noticed Haley's sudden movement. She had her head turned toward the ceiling with a face of concentration. Was she sensing something that they could not? Jonathan put down his chopsticks and turned to his daughter. "Haley," he asked with a raised eyebrow, "what's the matter, sweetie?"

Never taking her eyes off the ceiling, she answered, "You guys don't here that? It sounds like…tapping."

"Tapping?" Susan repeated, setting her own chopsticks down.

"Yeah, it's weird—it sounds familiar, like I've heard it before. It—"

A loud thud followed by a familiar _"Aww man!"_ shouted from upstairs cut her off. Haley nonchalantly returned to her dinner. "Never mind, it's just Jake."

Jonathan exasperatedly though fondly rolled his eyes; his kids would never change. Turning his attention to the stairs, he saw Jake carefully making his way down the stairs. What surprised Jonathan was the long red tail swishing besides Jake's legs, scales making a tapping and slight scratching sound every time they made contact with the hardwood. He had never seen Jake partially transformed before—he was either fully human or fully shifted in his dragon form.

Jonathan was able to get a closer look at Jake by the time he got to the table and took a seat. Jake's eyes were still a dull bronze, and they were focused on nothing particular, making Jonathan certain that his son was still temporarily blind like earlier. He could also see more clearly how Jake's tail was lightly tapping the hardwood floor and furniture, akin to a blind person tapping their cane in order to know where they were going.

"Jake, what happened?" Susan asked, worry evident on her face.

At that moment, Jonathan stilled. He had forgotten to tell Susan how Jake was doing! _Oh, I am __**so**__ going to hear about this later,_ he thought dreadfully. He was very familiar with Susan's rants. _Gosh darn!_

Jake, like Jonathan, froze. He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck and gave a sheepish smile. "Uh, it kinda has to do with the…uh…_thing_ I'm going through right now." Here Haley snickered and Jake glared at her with sightless eyes. Jonathan saw Jake's lips move soundlessly and Haley's preceding annoyed face. She pouted and ducked her head, picking at her dinner. Jonathan guessed Jake told Haley something that neither he nor Susan could hear. "So, right now, I'm…blind. It has to do with, you know, advanced sight and all that."

Susan was silent for a moment before turning on Jonathan, giving him a _look_. Oh boy, he knew he was in for it later. "_Jonathan Long_!" she hissed across the table. "You told me he was fine when I asked you earlier. Being blind is _not_ fine!" Susan may not inherited dragon powers, but Jonathan was certain that she inherited at least some of a dragon's instincts—like the powerful protective instinct he had seen in Jake. Or maybe it was just her maternal ones. He could not be sure.

Jake came to his rescue, thank goodness. The teen held up his hands in a placating manner to his mother. "Mom! Mom, it's okay, really! I should be okay by tomorrow. It's not that big of a deal. My hearing lets me navigate the house pretty well. The only spots that get tricky are the stairs and when there's a lot of furniture in one space. I use my tail then. Really, don't get mad at Dad."

Silence reigned at the Long kitchen table as Susan kept her arms crossed and lips pursed. It was a very tense moment before she sighed then pointed a finger at both of them. "All right. But, I need to know when stuff gets serious, Jake _and_ Jonathan Long!"

Jonathan let out a sigh of relief. He could always count on his son to back him up. Without looking at each other, Jake curled his tail at the end and Jonathan curled his hand into a loose fist, fist-tail-bumping each other underneath the table. All was well.

* * *

><p>It was Tuesday now, and everything was going well. Susan and Haley were at work and school again, and Jake and Jonathan were spending another day at home. Jake regained his sight by the time he woke up, to Jonathan's relief. When Jonathan asked how Jake was doing, he was immensely glad that Jake had said he was okay—his headache and previous nausea and stomachache were gone. The problems for today were less serious: just general body aches, some minor chest pain, and an achy throat—symptoms like a regular cold. To Jonathan's surprise, Jake looked as if he had grown two or three inches over night. He knew that Jake would be happy about that since he knew—from Jake telling him—that Trixie and Spud still teased him over his height.<p>

Jonathan was sitting at the kitchen table with Jake as they enjoyed their breakfast. It was a large cup of black coffee and toast for Jonathan and a cup of boiling-hot Kuding tea (in his favorite mug) and toaster waffles for Jake. When they were done, Jonathan washed the dishes while Jake dried them. When they were on the last of the dishes, Jonathan noticed that Jake was starting to scrunch up his face—mostly his nose—and shrug up his shoulders. Jake turned his head to the side and sneezed, but instead of a normal sneeze, wisps of fire and smoke entered the air.

Jonathan froze and looked at Jake who had a startled expression on his face. "Jake…" Jonathan started, "what was that?"

Jake looked equally confused as he said, "I guess…I guess it's the advanced fired breathing starting to kick in." He cleared his throat and puffed out a few more wisps of smoke. "That would explain why my throat and chest have been bothering me all morning."

As Jonathan dried his hands, he looked at Jake with a perplexed expression on his face. "Hold on. I thought that you could only breathe fire in your dragon form. You can do it in your human form as well?"

Jake hummed and tossed the slightly damp cloth he had used to dry the dishes onto the marble counter. He took a seat at the kitchen table again and scratched his cheek. "Well…it's kinda difficult to explain. When I was younger, like eight or something, I breathed fire in my human form—but it was completely unintentional. It was Camp Mugwomp—remember the one I went to for that summer?"

Jonathan dipped his head in a nod.

"Yeah, well, I ended up startling myself because, like, who wouldn't be if they just started breathing fire outta nowhere, you know? Anyway, my powers didn't fully emerge until I was thirteen. That was when I learned to fully shift into my dragon form and stuff. From that point I could only breathe fire in my dragon form. I didn't know how to when I was human. But, with Gramps training me almost every day I got the hang of things, and I eventually figured out how to breathe fire in my human form. Does that make sense, Dad? I know I'm not super good at explaining stuff."

Jonathan took a second to mull everything over in his head. It made sense when it was broken down like that. He guessed it was kind of like muscle memory. Jake 'had' his powers when he was eight—heck, he had them since he was born—but he was not aware of them until he was thirteen. When he learned to use his powers in his dragon form, he could then use them when he was human. That made sense. Mostly.

He smiled at his son. "Yeah, it made perfect sense. And you are A-okay at explainin' things, Jake." He ruffled the teen's dark green hair, making it messier than it already was, and ignored the half-hearted exclamation from his son. "C'mon Jake-a-roo!" he chirped as he made his way downstairs toward the living room. "Don't you still have to keep teaching me how to play Black Ops? We have almost all day after all."

Jonathan felt happy when his son gave him his familiar fanged smile in response.

* * *

><p>They settled themselves in the living room for several hours and it was already four o'clock in the afternoon by the time Jonathan looked at the clock again. <em>Wow,<em> he thought_, I think I finally understand how young people can waste their time playing video games for several hours on end. This is getting addicting_. Even though Jake had beaten him so many times that he had lost count, Jonathan was having a great time spending quality time with his son.

Even with him sneezing and coughing wisps of flame and plumes of smoke quite frequently.

In Jonathan's honest opinion, he did not even notice it until a shrill of beeps pierced through the video game sounds. It was extremely loud and shocked him so much that he startled, controller jolting out of his hand and landing somewhere behind the coffee table. On the couch, Jake clapped his hands over his ears and gritted his teeth, controller long forgotten.

"Jeeze, what the heck!"

"I think it's the fire alarm, Jake!"

They scrambled off the couch and recliner, limbs flailing and frantic, trying to hurry and turn off the ringing fire detector on the ceiling before the NY fire department showed up at their home. It would definitely be something to try to explain to the fire department that, no, their fire detector was not set off by an actual fire but instead by Jonathan's teenage son who was part dragon and just so happened to be going through some dragon stuff that caused him to cough up fire and smoke. That would have just gone swimmingly.

Luck was on their side for the moment as they managed to turn off the fire detector within a minute, and Jonathan was fairly positive that the fire department would not be knocking—or knocking down—on their door. He huffed out a breath of relief and plopped on the couch while Jake took the recliner this time. "That was a close one, eh, Jake?"

Jake rubbed behind his neck and the poor kid looked guilty. "I'm sorry, Dad! If it wasn't for my stupid coughing and stuff, this wouldn't have happened."

Jonathan waved a dismissive hand. "Jake, don't worry about it. We're not hurt, the house isn't burnt town, and your coughing is actually getting better. Don't worry about it, okay?" He threw Jake his controller and smiled. "Let's just forget about it and get back to Black Ops, okay?"

Jake grinned, "Sure, Dad."

It was five minutes later when they heard keys jingle and the lock click as it was opened. Jonathan knew it was Susan and Haley returning from work and school—a little early actually—and he was so glad that the fire alarm had been turned off before they got home. But his relaxation was shot when he heard his wife yell, "Jake and Jonathan Long! What part of the house burnt down, and why did we see fire trucks on their way to our house while we were driving back home?!" Their luck flew out the window.

Father and son stilled and shared a look, knowing that they had a lot of explaining to do.

"_Aww man!"_

* * *

><p>Susan had not been happy to come home from work and picking up Haley from school to explain to the fire department that the alarm had been nothing to worry about, and that it was just her husband and son conducting some experiment that had gone awry with cause the smoke in the living room. Jonathan had gotten an earful that night after dinner. Jake had managed to slink away to his room.<p>

The next day, Wednesday, started out like every other day so far: Susan and Haley would go to work and school while Jonathan and Jake would stay home. The only thing that was different was that Jonathan had not seen Jake all morning; that was surprising since a lively teenage _boy_ who was going through some serious body changes ought to be an eating machine all the time. Jonathan drummed his fingers against his empty coffee mug as he thought, _Maybe he's just sleeping in today. I would too if I were him. If he doesn't come down in the next ten minutes, I'll go check on him because it's probably nothing._ He poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and sat down at the kitchen table, reading the newspaper. He got absorbed in the Funnies section for a good period of time and when he glanced up at the wall clock he realized that twenty-five minutes had gone by—and still no Jake.

"It's probably nothing," he murmured to himself as he got up and made his way up the stairs. Just a few steps down the hallway and he felt something jab into his bare foot accompanied with a loud crunching sound. "Ouch!" he shouted as he clutched his foot, trying to see what caused him the pain. He fingered the bottom of his foot and felt something sharp drop into the palm of his hand. (2) What he saw were several shards of deep red something that looked to be reptile scales.

"Scales?" he asked no one. "What would scales—Jake's scales—doing all over the hallway?" Jonathan swallowed down the anxiety that was beginning to rise in his chest, a kind that every parent had for their child, and took a deliberate breath. _It's probably nothing_, he reassured himself.

"Jaaaake?" he called out as he walked towards his son's door and knocked on it. "Jake, you in there, son? Are you up yet?"

"Yeah, I'm up," came the reply, but not from the bedroom. It sounded like his son was in the bathroom. Okay, that made sense in Jonathan's opinion. Jake was probably just getting ready for the day, that's all. But that still did not explain the scales in the slightest. Was he hurt? Maybe he got hurt and whatever hurt him scratched some, more like a lot, of scales off. So he moved from in front of the teenager's room to in front of the bathroom. He rapped his knuckles against the door a few times before saying, "Uh, didn't see you at breakfast, son. Are you alr—"

"D-don't come in!" Jake cut him off with a flustered shout. "I'm fine!"

Jonathan blinked in surprise. _What in the world?_ "You don't sound fine Jake. I won't come in, but just let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"…Okay, Dad. I'm just, uh, going through some stuff right now and I rather not be seen…"

"Well, alright," Jonathan furrowed his eyebrows in worry. Jake sounded really not okay, but he didn't want to make him uncomfortable. Jake would come out when he was ready. "Do you at least want me to bring some food for you in your room?"

"Yeah, please. Thanks."

Jonathan went down stairs and made toaster waffles for him and Jake, put a few on a plate and brought it upstairs to Jake's room. He was mindful of the scales on the floor this time. Jake was still in the bathroom, which was concerning as it had already been fifteen minutes. Jake's room was still messy as ever, to be expected as a teenage boy, and the only difference was that there were _a lot_ of red scales scattered all over the room—on the sheets, bed, and floor. _Goodness!_ He thought as he picked up a scale. It was the size of half his palm and was slightly convex, and as he fingered the cracking edges he could imagine that his fingers would have been cut easily instead of just gliding over cracks. _Are his scales all falling out? I feel like that warrants a lot of worry. Maybe I should call Lao Shi?_ He shook his head. "No, this is probably normal dragon stuff. I just," he took in a deep, calming breath as he left the room, "have to go with it."

He made his way to his and Susan's bedroom and got himself cleaned and dressed for the day, being very grateful that the master bedroom had its own bathroom. It was eleven o'clock and he needed to get some work done. He slung his laptop bag over his shoulder and as he left his room, he saw a blur of red and green dash from the bathroom to Jake's room. "Whoa! What the…?" he shouted, startled. Jake's door slammed shut.

He frantically knocked on Jake's door, levels of worry hitting the ceiling by this point. "Jake, you okay?" The sound of something scraping against hardwood did not make him feel better.

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I'm totally fine. Totally fine!" More scratching and scraping noises. "Nothing to worry about."

"…Okay, Jake. I'll be downstairs doing some work if you need me."

"…'Kay."

He hadn't seen Jake for the rest of the day. When he had knocked on his door to ask Jake if he wanted lunch, he had claimed not to be hungry, much to Jonathan's disbelief. What teenager doesn't want food? So he had put a sandwich in the fridge for Jake to take if he did get hungry.

Susan and Haley came home, and Jonathan told Susan what happened today and how Jake did not want to be seen. They were setting the table and Haley was helping with the salad. "Oh, I hope he's alright," Susan said as she set down the last plate. She turned to Haley giving her a plate of food. "Haley, sweetie, go check on your brother and give him this. Maybe he'll let you see him."

"Okay, Mommy," she chirped, taking the plate and running upstairs, black ponytails trailing behind her.

"Don't run!" she called after their daughter. She sighed and rolled her eyes, knowing that she wouldn't listen. After the table was set and all the food was put out, she took a seat and Jonathan sat next to her. "So, you said there were scales all over the places?"

"Yep," Jonathan nodded. "I've been checking on him all day, but he didn't want me to see him. He locked himself in his room." He drummed his fingers on the table, letting off some extra energy. Susan didn't show it, but Jonathan could tell she was very worried. The slight furrow in her brow, the way she pursed her lips, how she ran her fingers over her manicured nails—she was anxious and concerned.

Within a few minutes that seemed to take too long, Haley came downstairs, plate no longer in her hands. She slid into a chair and looked at them. "Um, Jake's staying in his dragon form for a while because it feels better for him."

"And why is that?" Jonathan asked with a raised eyebrow.

Haley looked sympathetic and awkward all at once as she winced. "He's molting."

"Ah."

Dinner continued as usual with conversations about work, school, and such. The food was delicious and they made sure to leave a (large) plate for Jake in the fridge. Later that night, when Jonathan heard something maneuver down the stairs, he paid it no mind. Jake was probably just raiding the fridge for a late night snack. Or more likely a late night all-you-can eat.

He'd see Jake in the morning. Now it was time for sleep.

* * *

><p><em>End of Sickness Arc<em>

* * *

><p><span>Published<span>: 7/31/14

(1) I got my information from the food from Wikipedia. To any Chinese readers out there, if these foods sound wrong, please correct me. en. wikipedia wiki/ Guangdong _ cuisine (remove spaces)

(2) Even though dragon scales are normally very tough, strong, and probably sharp enough to cut something, I imagined that scales that molted off in the beginning would be very fragile, almost like a chicken egg.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter (and other chapters)! There are a lot, and it would take a while to name them all. But, seriously, thank you!

A/N 2: If this chapter seemed rushedd, it's because I just wanted to get this arc over with. It was taking too long to write.


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